http://hdl.handle.net/1813/360 Mon, 20 May 2013 12:55:25 GMT 2013-05-20T12:55:25Z http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu:80/retrieve/3057/aap-sibley-icon.jpg http://hdl.handle.net/1813/360 http://hdl.handle.net/1813/29607 Title: Ready or Not, Here They Come: How U.S. Cities are Preparing for the Aging Population, and Lessons from New York City and Atlanta Authors: Morken, Lydia J Abstract: Graying Baby Boomers and advances in medicine, technology and public health mean that by 2030 nearly one in five people in the U.S. will be 65 years old or older. The needs of this aging population will put unprecedented pressure on society, including on cities, through new demands on housing, transportation, public space, health care, and a wide range of services. This paper examines the role of cities in this demographic transformation by exploring the notion of elder-friendly communities, the relationship between human aging and the built environment, and a comparison of Age-friendly NYC in New York City and Lifelong Communities in Atlanta, two wide-ranging initiatives to make those places friendlier to older residents. It compares the two efforts to understand what strategies were developed to address the challenges unique to each place, and explores several major lessons that have emerged from which other cities might learn. Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/29607 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/29010 Title: Public Private Partnerships in Urban Parks: A Case Study of Five U.S. Parks Authors: Wilson, Amanda Abstract: Public-private partnerships (P3s) are increasingly used to manage public parks. What do cities, citizens, and organizations need to know when establishing a P3 for park management? What are the opportunities and implications of these partnerships? This research provides information not readily available on the structure and operations of public-private partnerships in five U.S. parks. These parks present a range of funding sources and expenditures, programming, concessions, and historical contexts. Though these parks differ in certain aspects, distinct trends and lessons emerge. From these trends and a review of academic literature I propose recommendations for establishing and monitoring the public-private partnership process. This research began as part of an in internship with the Downtown Austin Alliance in the summer of 2010. Data on these parks were collected through interviews with park managers during the summer and fall of 2010 and supplemented by park websites or online news sources. Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/29010 2011-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22952 Title: The Effect of NSP on HUD and its Grantees Authors: Decker, Nathaniel Abstract: This report examines how suburban characteristics may have hampered grantees’ administration of the first round of Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP1) funding. The report focuses on NSP1’s “set-aside” requirement which was designed to preserve housing (either rental or owner) affordable to very-low income families. This report reviews available literature and uses interviews with HUD (who administered the program), nonprofit partners, and two Florida grantees to examine the effect of four community characteristics: goals that are contrary to the creation of affordable housing, limited capacity to administer NSP, a dearth of NSP-eligible multifamily properties, and limited capacity in the jurisdiction’s nonprofit community. This report finds that many grantees struggled with the fast pace of this crisis-response program. However, this fast pace directed HUD’s attention to grantees that were chronic under-performers under other block grant programs such as CDBG, and may have improved grantee capacity as well as their relationship with HUD. Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22952 2011-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22299 Title: THE WORKER, FIRM, AND REGION NEXUS: HOW REAL PEOPLE AND REAL WORK SHPAE THE REGIONAL INNOVATIVE CAPACITY IN THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED INDUSTRY Authors: Jung, Namji Abstract: This study proposes to rethink the current framework of the innovative region by placing an emphasis on a much under-studied dimension: the workforce and organizational capacity. In particular, this paper pays attention to commitment-based HR practices as critical factors in shaping organizational competency and innovation. Existing studies on innovation at the regional scale have identified a set of factors external to organizations as the main mechanisms of innovation, including knowledge spillover, local or global collaboration, and proximity to research universities and institutions. However, there is increasing evidence that the exclusive emphasis on external factors of innovation may capture only one side of a continuum in which creativity and innovation are strongly influenced by internal organizational factors – i.e. internal skill pools and workplace culture (Lampel, Lant, and Shamsie, 2000; Collins and Smith, 2006). I propose a new conceptual framework for the workforce-firm-region nexus and analyze the case of a high technology community in Seoul. Using the new conceptual framework and drawing from both survey data and in-depth interviews, the case study magnifies the relationship between workers and firm performance, as well as the importance of a firm’s human resource management practice in reinforcing the reciprocity between workers and a firm. I present that the roles carried out by workers in day-to-day routines are an important source of new ideas and product development. I also show evidence that commitment-based employment practices shape the firm-specific human resource that are critical in creating a distinctive competitive advantage for firms, whose aggregate success ultimately translates to local and regional economic strength Finally, I propose to extend the current theoretic framework of innovation studies in the knowledge-based industries into workforce and human resource practice dimensions and explore the directions of local and regional policies that potentially strengthen the worker-employer relationship in a way that increases the employment rate and continued growth of workforce. Description: The author wishes to thank for comments from Ed Feser, Josh Drucker, Karen Chapple, Kieran Donaghy and other friends and colleagues. Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22299 2011-03-04T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22081 Title: Do Mobile Workforces Contribute to Innovation? Authors: Jung, Namji Abstract: Are mobile creative workers mainly responsible for innovation in the creative industry because they mediate knowledge transfer and spill-over that are critical in creating new ideas? This paper explores the labour requirements of digital content production. Drawing on 323 digital content (DC) firm samples located in Seoul, South Korea, this paper explores the causal relationship between human resource practices and innovation. A logistic regression of the data reveals that the additive index of a set of organizational practices that aim to foster internal labor pool including selective hiring, retention, and R&D investment is a statistically significant predictor of innovative capacity of the digital content firms in Seoul. However, the additive index of incentive-based HR practices including high compensation and job security did not show a significant relationship with the innovative capacity of firms. This study provides preliminary evidence on the significance of internal organization, and in particular of the role of internal labor pools, in innovation. This study suggests that the leaders of creative industry firms, particularly those in the digital content industry, should carefully choose between exploitation and exploration in managing their creative workers and creative capacity, since these practices may shape the firm’s competitive advantage. Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22081 2010-06-21T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22080 Title: Labor requirements and HR practice in Innovation: Implications for Local-Regional Workforces Authors: Jung, Namji Abstract: This paper proposes a way to measure the internal organizational capacity as an important element for innovation in the context of the creative industry at regional scale. In particular, this paper pays attention to the commitment-based HR practices as critical factors in shaping organizational competency and innovation. Existing studies on innovation at regional scale have identified a set of factors external to organizations, such as knowledge spillover, local or global collaboration, and proximity to research universities and institutions, as the main mechanisms of innovation. Presently, however, there is increasing evidence showing that the exclusive emphasis on external factors of innovation may in fact only capture one side of a continuum in which creativity and innovation are strongly influenced by internal organizational factors – i.e. internal skill pools and workplace culture (Lampel, Lant, and Shamsie, 2000; Collins and Smith, 2006). Building on this problem orientation, this paper investigates the labor requirement of the digital content industry, corresponding organizational strategies (human resource practices) and their contribution to innovation. The connection between the HR practice and its role on technological innovation has not been made clear in the existing economic geography or planning literature. Therefore, theories from human resource management (high performance human resource management) have been adapted to form the theoretic background and inform the measurement and quantitative modeling. The result of the logistic regression on 323 digital content industry firms cluster in Seoul, Korea indicates that the additive effect of various commitment-based HR practices including rigorous hiring of workers with high skills and educational attainments and worker retention is positively related to innovation, whereas the evidence for the contribution of local or international collaborations is vague at best. The public policy implication of this finding is that micro level organizational human resource strategies are, in fact, an integral part of regional workforce development and long term economic growth, which may seem trivially obvious but is something that too often we seem to overlook. These research findings lend support to policy programs targeting new employment and longer retention (such as wage subsidies), as these programs help firms exercise commitment-based HR practices. Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22080 2010-10-08T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14285 Title: What Local Officials Need to Know About Wind Power in Their Communities Authors: McCarthy, Kate; VanderMaas, Eric Abstract: If the topic of industrial wind development was on the table in your community, where would you begin the discussion? In this working paper, we will provide information to help local officials understand the complicated issue of industrial wind farms. First, we'll describe the basics of wind development and the actors involved. Then, we'll suggest how three actions - planning ahead with residents about their questions and concerns, developing zoning and wind ordinances, and working with a neutral third party who can help with negotiations and regulations - can enable local officials to manage the process of deciding whether wind development is a good option for their communities. Description: working paper for project on local policy and the green economy Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14285 2010-01-22T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14278 Title: Losing Out on Industrial Policy: The Chicago Case Authors: Clavel, Pierre; O'Neill-Kohl, Sara Abstract: While other nations were finding ways to intervene productively in their economic machinery in the post-war period, the United States moved from the pragmatic approach of the New Deal period, to avoidance of real economic policy intervention. With the crisis resulting from the losses in the financial sectors in 2008, this ideological umbrella was shorn away. What remained was the difficult task of reconstructing not just the willingness to intervene in various industrial sectors, but the capacity. In this paper, we first examine the wave of manufacturing plant shutdowns in Chicago in the 1980s. We then present two parallel stories about how social movements generated new institutions in the immediate response to plant shutdowns, and in city efforts to counter job loss with what turned out to be a successful rear guard action in the mid-1990s. Finally, we attempt a synthesis, to see what guidance there is in this story for present day attempts to maintain the nation’s manufacturing base. Description: working paper Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14278 2010-01-09T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14277 Title: In-Sourcing the Production of America’s Energy Technology Authors: Ufberg, Marc Abstract: $22 billion in stimulus money has been provided to promote renewable energy projects and re-train workers but amidst the frenzy, something has been missing in the public discussion. While the media has championed the use and installation of renewable energy technologies, little has been said about where those technologies are being manufactured. Not much attention is paid to the source of renewable energy equipment. One example is solar power. Perhaps not surprisingly, most solar panels are manufactured abroad; virtually none are manufactured in New York State. This presentation looks at whether this should be a cause for concern, what policymakers can do about it, and how to determine when offering incentives to renewable energy manufacturing companies is a good idea. Description: working paper Sun, 27 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14277 2009-12-27T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14230 Title: How Local Policies Can Support the Development of Green Jobs Authors: Ana Cajina, Kate Hess Pace; Anika Patterson, C.J. Randall Abstract: Green jobs and the green economy have received considerable attention from state and national policymakers, particularly in the energy efficiency sector. Local leaders can capitalize on the momentum and facilitate the growth of green jobs in industries ranging from construction to manufacturing to high-tech. By focusing initially on weatherization and retrofitting projects, communities will create jobs, increase energy efficiency, and save taxpayers' money. To maximize the benefits of this growing industry, policy makers will need to address financing options, job training, changes in local policy, programs to support green entrepreneurs, and local manufacturing of energy efficiency products. Description: working paper Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14230 2009-12-28T00:00:00Z